Can you smell what the Brock is cooking?
by HidekoChan90
Summary: Ever wonder what happened between Brock Harrison and Professor Ivy? Brock explains it all. Told from Brock's POV. What happens when Ivy returns with a special "present" for Brock? Spin-off from some of my other works. BrockXSakura. Rated for language.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is a story I decided to do because I am having severe writer's block. It's a one shot told in first person by our man Brock. ^_^ He's such a cutie! Anyway, yes, Miroku does make an appearance, but not enough of one to consider this fic a crossover. So i didn't put it in as one. Anyway, there is alot of professor Ivy bashing in this story, so if you like her, I apologize.

Again, I know this is a pokemon fic and you're probably thinking...how can a pokemon possibly be worth reading? Well, I tried to make the characters as mature as possible without making them seem too OOC.

Disclaimer: I don't own, Brock, Miroku, Sango Ash, Misty, Felina Ivy, or any pokemon mentioned in this story. I do however own Sakura, Robert, Ayame, Channing, Pierre and Shiori. ^.^

Chapter 1

Ayame Harrison just turned eighteen. I can hardly believe how fast those eighteen years went by. Right before my eyes, my daughter has grown up from a tiny newborn baby in my arms, to a beautiful woman who is now on her way to prom.

My wife helps zip up her dress, and places a crown of synthetic flowers in her pink hair. All morning Ayame has been glancing at the clock, waiting for the 6 P.M., that's when her date is coming and pick her up. It's almost surreal now that I look at it. I'm a thirty-six year old man with a grown daughter, but it seems like just yesterday I was sixteen.

Of course my childhood was much different from Ayame's. She always had everything, Sakura and I did spoil our daughter, and we're doing the same with Keiko, but that's alright. I want her to look back on these days and remember being a teenager. I never really got to because I had a family to take care of.

My childhood was just a huge blur, but there are some things that I remember.

*******************************

_I heard my father come home, slamming the front door shut and making the pictures on the hallway walls shake and bang against the wall. I shuddered._ _I knew what was happening, my father had a bad day at the Pewter City Gym again, he had probably lost to some novice trainer and that never made my father too happy. Now he was going to take it out on my mother and possibly on us. _

_I was only ten years old at the time, but I was way beyond my years. I stayed by the rail on the balcony and watched as my father yelled for my mother to come in from the kitchen. Flint Harrison wasn't a man you said no to, especially if you were a woman._

_My mother was a small woman. Very fragile, very quiet and she obeyed my father without argument. For the longest time I thought that this was how it was supposed to be, but somehow the fear etched on my mother's face told me otherwise. _

_She was an old-fashioned type of woman, with short curled brown-hair. She never wore pants, just skirts and she was always in dowdy heels. _

"_Lola!" My father yelled for her yet again and she finally came out of the kitchen, drying her hands with a towel and looking up at him timidly._

"_Flint, you're home early."_

"_Where's my dinner?" He asked, pushing past her. "Is it done yet?"_

"_Almost. I got a little held up at the grocery store. Susie's been sick all day and I---" _

"_My dinner comes first!" He yelled, banging his fist against the wall. "Damn it, Lola. Why don't you put that oldest son of yours to work? He doesn't do anything all day but go to school and take up space."_

_I knew he was talking about me. My brother, who was only a year younger than I was, cowered behind me, but I didn't. I had to be ready to protect my mother. I thought that it was my duty to protect her from my father._

_He had been drinking, I could tell by the way he walked, and when he had been drinking he was always so mean. He was always so angry and quick with everyone. I continued to watch the interaction between my parents, my brother peeked over my shoulder and one of my sister's hung on to my shirt. _

_They needed me. My mother wasn't strong enough to protect them or herself, but I was._

"_Brock helps me all the time!" My mother protested. "He helped me with the spaghetti sauce tonight. He doesn't just lay around, Flint!"_

"_Don't back talk me!" He yelled, kicking the side of the wall with so much force that a vase fell off a table that was leaning against the wall. It shattered against the hardwood floor and my father cursed. "Fuck it! Clean that up, Lola!"_

"_But what about dinner?"_

"_I said clean it up, now!" He yelled at her again, clenching his fist and I immediately sprang to feet. I ran down the stairs and pulled by father's fist down, but just as quickly he swung his arm and I plopped down on the kitchen floor. Pain shot through my tailbone and tears came to my eyes, but I didn't make one sound. _

_My father always said a boy shouldn't cry after he reaches five years of age. And I didn't. I couldn't remember the last time I cried actually. My mother looked down at me with concern, but I stood up, quickly wiping the tears away from my eyes. _

"_Brock, are you alright sweety?" She asked me, and I nod. My father was staring down at me, a scowl etched on his face. He looked big and mean and I wanted to cower from him so badly, but I knew I couldn't._

_My mother had her arms wrapped around my waist, holding me close to her. _

_Flint turned away from me. "You want your son to grow up and be gay, Lola? The way you baby him, it'll be a wonder if he doesn't turn out that way."_

_I saw a tear escape her eye, and I hugged her, very tightly. Her hair was soft and smelled of hairspray. My mother always smelled like perfume, soap and hairspray. It was a scent I had grown to love. She hugged me back and cried into my shoulder. _

_He sneered down at me and walked towards the staircase. I heard my brother's and sister's scatter for their rooms, but he didn't seem to be too concerned with them. Instead, he went into his own bedroom and my mother let go of me, racing up the stairs to try and stop him._

_I followed her. I knew exactly what he was doing. I could hear the zipper of a suitcase, the opening of drawers and my mother crying. "Flint, please…" She said._

"_I can't stand living in this hell you call a home." He said, pushing past her. His gaze was focused on me and my knees were shaking. He approached me, I was scared to death of what he might say or do, but I didn't let it show._

"_Brock, listen to me." He said, kneeling down until he was eye level with me. "You're the man of house now. Take care of your family, son."_

_My voice was shaky as I asked him a question. A question I already knew the answer to. "Dad, are you leaving?"_

"_Yes, and I don't know when I'll be back." He said, I could smell the liquor on his breath and it burned my nostrils. I could feel the tears sting my eyes, threatening to show my father just how weak I really was. My mother was still crying and I could see my younger brother trying to consol her. I knew one day it would come to this._

_He patted me on the shoulder and stood up. His heavy boots made loud sounds on the hardwood floor. He slammed the front door again and I realized this was for real. I had an entire family of children to take care of, including my mother._

_It was all up to me now._

********************************************

There is a knock at the door. Ayame panics and wonders if her make up and hair look OK. I simply smile and nod at her. "You look beautiful." I tell her as I twist the knob on our front door.

Five teenagers are standing at my door. Miroku's sister Shiori is standing with her date Pierre, then there is my daughter's boyfriend, Channing ,who I'm actually beginning to like and one boy who I don't recognize who looks like he might be dateless.

I greet Shiori and Pierre who invite themselves in, knowing that Sakura and I don't mind. Ayame's boyfriend bows to me with a smile and asks if he can come in. I, of course let him, thinking that it's funny he's so scared of me. It's not like I'm going to shoot the kid…yet.

I extend my hand outwards towards the boy I don't recognize. He's about Ayame's age, I assume he's a kid from school and he seems extremely shy. He just stares at me for a second before taking my hand. I give him a firm shake and he gives me one back with a smile.

I return to smile and turn to Sakura who is fiddling with her camera. I check my watch. "Sakura, you better hurry up. Their dinner reservations are at Seven o'clock."

"I'm hurrying!" She tells me, rolling her eyes. She knows how I always like to prompt and on time and she had always been the late one. I can't tell how many times she's made us late to dinner reservations, movies, even weddings. However, wherever we go she looks beautiful.

"Alright!" Sakura says, holding up the camera and looking towards the group of prom-going teenagers gathered in our living room. "Camera's ready! Shiori, Pierre, you two stand over here. Channing you stand in the middle with Ayame and you…" She stops when she sees the other boy who is standing off to the side. "You can be in the picture too, dear."

"Are you sure?" He asks, taking a few timid steps towards the group. "I don't really have a date and.."

"Oh, don't worry about that." Sakura says smiling. "What's your name, sweety?"

"Robert." He replies, looking over at me questioningly. I nod as if to tell him to go ahead and step into the picture. I don't know what's up with that kid, but he seems extremely shy and I wonder why I had never met the kid before. Ayame didn't seem to be friends with him, though I think her boyfriend was the one who invited him along.

"Well, Robert, stand over here next to Shiori." Sakura instructs and he does. She takes a few pictures, then just some of Ayame and Channing and I just watch. Friends. It reminds me of my friends when I was a teenager.

***************************************

_Mom had left a good two years before I met Ash Ketchum. I had fallen into the roll of 'mom and dad' to my younger siblings. I cooked, sewed, cleaned, did the laundry, took care of them when they were sick and even sent them off to school all while running the gym back in my hometown of Pewter City._

_I was a much better gym leader than my father. Only the best of the best trainers could actually defeat me, which sent a lot of the weak ones packing back to their hometown. However, when I was sixteen, everything changed._

_My father did come back. He told me my mother had taken off to Hollywood in the U.S. and was murdered by a band of gypsy's. Of course, being sixteen, I believed him, as heartbreaking as it was. _

_Flint Harrison had changed in the last 6 years. He was a scruffy, older, and ragged-looking version of me. I always hated the fact that I looked exactly like my father. So many emotions ran through me when I saw his face again. I remembered how he used to treat my mother, how he used to treat my siblings and most of all how he used to treat me._

_Somehow though, Flint had changed. I didn't know if it was because of my mother's death or if he had gotten some help with his anger problem and drinking habit. He must have believed in me in some way because he ended up helping Ash out with the battle because he could see he didn't have a chance in defeating me._

_If it hadn't been for my father, Ash might have been one of those trainers who was sent packing back to pallet town. He told me to go and pursue my career as an actor. So, I joined them, quickly becoming a well-liked character on 'Pokemon.' I quickly gave him a rundown of his own family and I set on my way with Ash and Misty._

_It was an awesome year. I turned seventeen just eight months into filming, but I still hadn't found anyone to share my heart with. Misty was too much like a sister to me, though I do like to think she might have a had a little bit of a crush on me if it wasn't for Ash, but that's another story._

_For an entire year I tried to find a girl. I flirted with every girl we came across, with the exception of the too-young, or the too-old variety. To be perfectly honest however, I couldn't see myself settling down then. I wasn't ready, even though I spat some lines about being hopelessly devoted to every pretty woman I saw._

_There were a few however, who I thought may I have actually liked me back. There was one girl named Florenda, but she didn't actually like me, she just liked the fact I believed in her. That was heartbreaking. I tried to convince her to do more tapings of shows along with us, but that didn't work. _

_There was Melanie who I met very early on in my friendship with Ash, but we didn't last long. I kept contact with her a few days after she left the studio for good, then she stopped returning my calls._

_It seemed like I was never going to find a girl I could be serious with. Someone who would except me, love me, and maybe even become my wife one day. Then, she happened…_

****************************

My daughter has just taken off to her senior prom. Boy, do I feel old…

The house is quiet, for the first time in eighteen years the house is actually quiet. We conveniently sent Keiko over to Miroku and Sango's place to play while Sakura and I enjoyed some rest and relaxation. However, when the knock comes to the door we both know that's not happening.

I smile and little, kiss my wife on the forehead and stand up. I open the door only to have my jaw drop. Ash and Misty actually came by to visit, which is very unusual considering they live almost two hours away in Pallet town where Ash is now running his own gym.

"Hey, guys. Come in." I say, inviting them in.

Sakura smiles and seemed just as shocked as I am that our old friends have come by to visit. "Hey you two. Wow. We haven't seen you guys since last summer."

"I know." Ash says with a shy laugh. "I guess I've just been really busy with the gym. I tried to come up for Christmas but I couldn't get a break. I finally got one, so me and Misty decided to take the day and come up here to visit you guys." He says.

"Yea, sorry we got here in the evening." Misty says. "Ash had a gym battle before we left."

"Oh no, it's fine." I say, settling back down on the couch. "Ayame's went off to her prom." I sigh and rake my hand through my spiked black hair. "Kind of depressing."

"Wow." Ash says, taking a seat on the recliner next to Misty. "That makes me feel old. I remember when she was just a baby in a crib."

Sakura laughs and leans her head on my shoulder. "Trust me, I do too. It makes me feel twice as old." I look down at her, admiring her youthful face. I look at myself everyday in the mirror and though I'm not nearly as old looking as my father, I know that one day I'm going to get that way and Sakura will stay forever young. Being an immortal fox-demon has it's advantages…

But I was born a mortal, who fell in love with an immortal, yet beautiful woman.

Suddenly, Ash rolls up his pant leg and itches his legs like crazy. I look over at my red-headed friend questioningly and then down at my friend's leg that is covered in little red bumps. "Oh, yea, Brock…" Misty says. "We were going to ask you if you had any medication for rashes like this. I think Ash got into some Poison Ivy."

Ivy…

I'm silent for a moment and Misty slaps her hand over her mouth and Ash scowls up at her, pulling down his pant leg. "Nice going, Misty."

"Oops. I'm sorry. "Misty apologizing immediately.

I shake it off, forcing a smile. She always was the one who mentioned…her. I stand up. "Sure, I've got a special medicated lotion. I'll go up and get it for you." I headed towards the staircase with only one thought on my mind.

Professor Felina Ivy.

***************************************

_I don't see how these four women can stay in a place this messy. I spent an entire day just cleaning up one room. Trash, papers, bottles, candy wrappers, fast food wrappers…everywhere! _

_I was about to explode. I had to clean it up, it was eating me alive. So now, here I am, finally in bed at a quarter past two in the morning and I'm still wide awake. Ash and Misty had fallen asleep long ago._

_Even Ivy and her assistants had taken to bed long before I did, but that's OK, because the room is clean now._

_I turn over on my side, trying my best to grasp sleep, but it isn't coming. I have way too much energy to just lay around here and not do anything. I go into the newly-cleaned kitchen and start a pot of water. I might as well start on breakfast now that I'm awake. _

_The girls and Ivy seem to enjoy my cooking and my ability to do housework at the speed of light. I guess that's a trait I picked up over the last seven years._

_A thought has been nagging at me for a while now. It's been an entire year since I left home in Pewter City. Ash and Misty are my two closest and friends and I love them to death, and I know they depend on me. Too much, actually, but that's alright. It makes me feel wanted and needed._

_Somehow, I need that after growing up the way I did._

_But, in a way, I'm starting to think that Ivy and the girls need me just a little more than those two do. They have each other, and though I learn a lot by traveling with them, I think I'll learn even more if I stay here with Felina Ivy._

_My thoughts are interrupted by a sound outside. I roll up my last rice doughnut and put them in a tray. I spot Ivy and her assistants outside behind some bushes, watching Pokemon. I wonder what she's doing up so late._

_I picked up the tray and headed outside. She hears me approach her and she smiles._

"_Brock, I thought you went to bed."_

"_Couldn't sleep." I said with a weak, tired smile. The thoughts were keeping me awake, the thought of leaving my two best friends and the decision I was about to make was causing me not to be able to sleep and normally I'm the type of person that falls asleep very easily. "I made you a midnight snack!"_

"_Oh awesome!" One of her assistants shouted, staring up at me with large, lens-covered eyes. She takes one of the rolls, and Ivy commands her to thank me._

"_Thank you." She says timidly and takes a bit._

_Ivy smiles at me and takes a bite. "These are delicious." She comments._

"_Thanks." I say, deciding to take one for myself. When I have a big decision to make like this one, I tend to stuff my face. "What are you doing out here so late?"_

"_We're observing Pokemon breeding habits." Ivy said. "The raticate on this island only mate this time of year, and they only do it really late at night. I've taken some notes on how the female lures the male into their underground dens." She hands me a pad full of notes and I'm amazed about how much information she has gathered._

"_Wow." I say. "This is amazing. I want to become to world's greatest breeder. It would be really awesome if you published this into a book of some sort so I could read it." _

_She looked back at me, taking one last bite of the food I made. "I got a better idea, Brock." She said, her voice is sultry and I can feel the back of my neck burning. "Why don't you stay here with me…I mean…us….you can learn a lot here on Valencia Island."_

_The thought had crossed my mind more than a million times by now, and the only reassurance I needed was Ivy's invitation, and she gave it to me. _

_My voice is shaky as I give her my reply. "Ivy, of course, I'll stay here…if you really want me to." I look back to see that her three assistants have vanished somewhere. I'm alone with her behind the bushes and she takes the tray of rice from my hands and smiles._

_She wraps her arms around my neck and kisses me. My breath catches in my throat and I kiss her back. My decision has been made and I know I have to break the news to Ash and Misty in the morning, but right now, I'm not thinking of that._

_She lets go of me, before things go to far and she smiles. Now that my decision is made, maybe I can get some sleep, but everything in my body is telling me that right now, that's the last thing I want to do._

_I watch Ivy as she buttons up the top button on her blouse. I must have unbuttoned it without realizing it, but she doesn't seem mad or offended. She's giving me a hot lingering look. "Get some sleep, Harrison." She says with a smile and sashays back into the small hut._

_I stand there for a few moments, letting the island breeze cool my heated body. Of course, I know If I stay here that means I have to give up my contract and I won't be on the show anymore, but I'd rather be a Pokemon Breeder, or maybe even a doctor, then an actor anyway._

_That's Misty's dream, she wants to be the movie star, not me. _

_Sleep finally comes to me, and I don't know how long I was asleep before someone wakes me up. However, I can tell it's very early._

"_Brock?"_

"_Brock?"_

"_Brock?"_

_Three different voices, that sound strangely alike and yet different ring in my ear. I open my eyes to see Ivy's three assistants, hovering over me. _

_I sit up and lean my back against the couch. It's definitely morning, the sunlight peeking through the blinds is reminding me of that. I force a smile. I'm used to being woken up at ungodly hours of the morning by my siblings, so this is nothing new, just sweetly familiar. _

"_It rained last night and my roof was leaking. My entire bed is soak and wet." One of them said, adjusting her glasses. "Can you fix it for me?"_

_Sure, why not? I'm awake anyway. I nod tiredly and get out of bed. Since I cleaned the entire house the day before I know where everything is. I grab a few boards, a hammer and some nails, then I go around the back of the house and get the latter._

_Within minutes, I'm on top of the roof, nailing the boards down to keep the rain water out of the girl's rooms. _

_I look down to see that Ivy is looking up at me with a smile. She's dressed in her lab coat and she's trying to act as casual as possible. Last night's events are still swimming through my tired mind and I know what I have to do._

_I see Misty step outside and I feel my heartbreak. I'm almost a grown man and for some reason I feel like crying when I see her and Ash this morning. Ivy is enjoying one of the rice doughnuts I made the night before._

_Ash rubs his eyes and adjusts his hat. "Yo, Brock, what are you doing way up there?"_

"_Fixing the roof." I stated the obvious standing up, allowing a light, cheery tone to my voice. _

"_Well, no duh, but why?" Ash asks. Misty's holding on to Togepi and I think she knows already, she always was just a little bit brighter than Ash._

_Before I can reply and tell them myself, which I was not wanting to do in first place, Ivy speaks up for me. "It seems that Brock has decided to stay with us."_

_Ash looks shocked and Misty's face falls. The trio had been knocked down to a duo. "But, Brock, what about season 2?" Misty asks. "The Orange Islands…we were looking forward to filming the season with you."_

"_I know." I said, climbing down off the ladder. I have to be strong, so I don't look at either of them in the face. "But Ivy and the girls need me here. They'll find a replacement for me, I'm sure of it." _

_Misty doesn't look too happy about that and neither does Ash. He turns from me and looks at Misty. "Let's just hope the new guy can cook…"_

_I laugh. I'm glad he's taking it so well, but it's Misty I'm worried about. She always looked up to me like a big brother and now I was leaving. It would be nice to not have to be in front of a camera for a while. I know that this was the best decision of my life._

_*******************************_


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2_

Ash pulls down his pant leg after I apply the medication. "Thanks."

"No problem." I say, settling back down on the couch with my wife. She grabs my hand and I lace my fingers with hers.

"Honey?" Sakura asks and I make eye contact with her. "What's wrong, sweety?"

"Nothing…" I say, squeezing her hand. But she knows I'm thinking about Ivy. I'm not a mind reader, but I can tell what everyone else is thinking in their minds. What happened between Professor Ivy and I?

I haven't even talked to Sakura about it. Of course, she's asked, but I just brush her off. It's almost like I'm running away from it and I shouldn't do that. My father taught me not to run away from my problems, even though he did many times, my mother taught me to talk to my friends, and my family taught me to love and trust the ones I hold dear to me.

The rooms silent and Ash is the first to break the silence. "Brock, whatever happened between you and Ivy?"

"Ash!" Misty growls at him. "Don't be so rude."

"No, it's alright." I say. "It's…time I talk about this." My whole body feels stiff and I feel Sakura rub my shoulder reassuringly. What Felina Ivy did to me has scarred my adulthood, but Sakura's the one who's healed me. She's loved me and she was here with me now. I feel safe and my father would be so disappointed in me that I rely on a woman as much as I do, but I love her. She saved me.

I clear my throat and shift in my seat, preparing myself mentally to tell my tale.

***************************

_It's been almost a year since Ash and Misty left me here on Valencia Island. I'm eighteen years old now and I have an amazing woman. Felina and her assistants are out around the island collecting different data and of course, I'm left behind to clean house._

_It doesn't really get old, but I stayed here to learn, not to be a maid, but I keep my mouth shut and I don't complain, because Ivy's still giving me the love and affection I want. I finally lost my virginity, not that I was desperate to lose it or anything, but I couldn't have lost it to a better woman than Ivy._

_Leaving the 'Pokemon' television show to stay on this paradise island was the best decision of my life and I'm glad I did it. I still talk to Ash and Misty every now and then, but they are far too busy to talk every day and I do miss them._

_Keeping the house clean every day has paid off, I don't clean nearly as much as I used to because I don't allow the junk and clutter to pile up. Ivy teases me about being a neat freak, but I can't help it. _

_I plop back on the couch, feeling lazy. There is nothing else to do. It's too early to start dinner, and it's too late for lunch, but I can't just sit around on the couch all day and wait for Ivy and the others to come back home. _

_I hear a knock from downstairs. It doesn't like someone's at the door, more like someone fell. I race downstairs, fearing that it was Ivy, or perhaps one of the girls who had hurt themselves._

_There is always this one room in the basement that Ivy insists I never go in. I asked once and she got really angry, so I quit asking. However, that sound came from inside this room. It's locked, of course, but if someone was hurt I know I have to get in there._

_Now, I'm an expert at picking locks and I always keep a spare hairpin in my left pocket. My little sister's used to lock their doors when they didn't want me to force them to go to school and I had become and expert at picking locks in emergencies._

_I slip the black hairpin into the keyhole and jiggle the lock. It takes me a few tries, but I finally hear the tumblers click. I open the door and my blood freezes in my veins._

_Ivy jumps up, covering her bare chest with a quilt as if I hadn't seen it before. "Brock!"_

_There's a man, who I don't recognize looking very shocked. "Ivy? What the…"_

"_Brock, I can explain."_

_I don't even want to hear her explanation. I feel very nauseous and my stomach heaves at the thought. My manhood has been crushed. I feel worthless, used…but the worst was still to come._

_The blankets near Ivy's feet begin to move and I realize that the strange man isn't the only person in bed with her, but also her three assistants. I turn away, feeling extremely sick by this point. I have to get of here._

_I have to get out of this house, off the island, back home. Anywhere. Anywhere but here._

"_Brock, hold on a second!" Ivy yells after me, but I grab my backpack, glad that my Pokemon are already inside. I run until my legs hurt, until my lungs hurt from breathing. I'm running so fast I'm not even sure if my feet are touching the ground anymore._

_I don't know how long I have been running but I see a blimp station located on the coast of the island. I realize I left half my clothes at Ivy's, but I don't care, I need to get on that blimp._

_I have little money, but lucky for me, I convince the lady at the counter for a half-price ride. I'm not sure where the blimp is headed and really don't care. I just feel dirty and I want to get some place far, far away from Valencia Island. _

_As I sit in the aisle seat on the blimp, I cry for the first time in fifteen years, possibly more. I feel like a failure, a baby. All I want is my mother right now, to hold me, like I held her when my father hurt her this badly._

_I hate this feeling. Men aren't supposed to cry, especially men like me. I'm solid as a rock. It's my reputation and me sitting here crying like this isn't good for that image._

_But I realize something. Everyone has emotions and feelings, no matter who you are. However, right now, I don't know who I am. Felina Ivy has hurt me so bad, she's got an eighteen year old man whining like a baby on a blimp 10,000 feet in the air. _

_I miss my mother so badly right now. I feel like my chest is caving in and I wonder why I was so quick to jump on this blimp to who knows where. I was running away from my problem, but what else was I supposed to do? I left so quickly, I didn't even grab the food I had in the kitchen there._

_I left the instant ramen, the rice balls, the doughnuts, even my official Pokemon tea set! Damn it, I love that too! I'm such an idiot! What's even worse is that I'm starving right now and all I have in my backpack is gum._

_I put a piece in my mouth, liking the way the fresh mint gave me a sense of cleanliness, but it doesn't do anything to satisfy my hunger. I look out the window and we're over water now. It's crystal blue and beautiful, so I know we're still not far from the Valencia Island. This isn't far enough for me yet and I still don't feel right._

_I lean back in my chair, close my eyes and try to forget. I regret everything I did with Ivy. I was in such a hurry to lose my virginity before I became an adult that I didn't stop to think about if I really wanted to that or not._

_It doesn't matter anyway, I'm not going to find another woman to love me. I, Brock Harrison am giving up on love, women, and the whole thing. I'll never let anyone else get anywhere near my heart like she did. No woman is worth this kind of pain._

_I'll never love again._

_*********************************************_

"So…" Ash is the first to speak after I finish my horrific tale. "Professor Ivy is a lesbian?"

"I'm not even sure myself." I reply. I've kept that secret for eighteen years now. It feels good to finally get it off my chest.

Ash leans back in the recliner. "No wonder you didn't want to talk about it. If I had sex with a lesbian my first time it would have trashed my manhood, too."

Misty scowls at him and I can't help but laugh. It's just like old times. "Ash, get your foot out of your mouth!"

Sakura rubs the side of the face softly and I smile. There is no need to dwell on the past anymore. That chapter of my life is over and it will forever be. I'm married to a wonderful, beautiful woman who is far more beautiful than I thought Ivy was at the time.

Out of all the women I have met, I can't believe I actually stayed with Ivy and left my friends and my acting career. It was a huge mistake.

However, I realized something back then. Just because one bad thing happened to me, didn't mean that I couldn't find happiness, and just one week later I did. I met Sakura.

**************************************

_I have been walking for days. The blimp was headed to Viridian City and I'm headed south. I've been in the forest for about two days. I'm hungry, tired and dirty. I did, however, manage to change my clothes. I went into a laundry mat and washed my pants and shirt, just because the last place I washed them was Ivy's._

_I managed to scrape up some change for a cheeseburger at a Wacdonald's here in Viridian City, of course, now that I've eaten I feel sick again. I'm almost to edge of the forest and I wonder how I managed to get lost. I never get lost._

_My mind isn't in the correct state now I guess. I haven't slept in three days and I want to just collapse by a tree and sleep for the rest of my life at this point. I step out into a clearing. There is no people around, despite that it's early morning. _

_Once I learned that the blimp was heading to Viridian City , I had made plans to go home to Pewter City, but somehow, where I am at now, doesn't look like Pewter City at all. It's smaller, more colorful, and the Gym isn't anywhere in sight._

_Great. Now I really am lost. I must have been going the wrong way the entire time. Fuck it. I don't care anymore. I'm feeling way too tired and way to sick right now to even care what happens to me._

_My skin feels gritty and I imagine I probably smell pretty bad. I haven't bathed in almost four days and that thought alone has me feeling nauseous. I collapse in an open field and everything goes black._

_I wake up sometime later to the sound of soft footsteps on the grass. It's not just one pair of footsteps, but two. I'm surprised that such a soft sound could have woken me up out of the coma-like sleep I was in, but it did._

_I was too weak to look up and see who it was. I was even too weak to speak and the next thing I know, my back is being trampled._

_I grunt in pain and the mere impact gives me the adrenaline to lift my head up. It's Delia Ketchum, Ash's mother. She has a grocery bag in her hands and her Mr. Mime is holding another one. She doesn't seem to have noticed me yet and she walks back over my back, along with Mr. Mime._

_Delia was always beautiful, but she wasn't too smart. Now I know where Ash gets his brains from. "Mimey, did you hear something?" She asks._

_He just replies with a 'mime' which sounded more like a no to me. _

_Suddenly, I see her look down at me and she looks quite surprised. "Oh my goodness. Sir, are you alright?" _

_She lifts me up, how she does this, I'll never know. I think it was a motherly instinct to save me that gave her the strength to lift me. I wasn't exactly a small guy after all. She drags me inside the house and lifts me onto the couch. _

_My legs have no strength in them at all. She looks down at me, perplexed for a few minutes. "You look familiar…" She says. "Aren't you that older boy who's friends with my son and that cute little redhead?"_

_I nod slowly and she smiles, clasping her hands together. "Brock! That's right! How is my little Ashy?"_

_I wouldn't know, but I reply anyway. "Oh, I'm sure he's alright."_

"_Hey wait…" She says, sounding confused. "If you were laying out in that field all day by yourself, and my son isn't with you then…" She pauses. "Something bad has happened to Ash!"_

"_No, no, Mrs. Ketchum, that's not what happened." I say, reassuring her the best way I can. "I just…left the group for a while. I didn't travel with them to the Orange Islands…"_

_Delia seems to calm down a little, but she still looks concerned. She sits down on the couch across from me. "Well, why not? Did you and Ash get into a fight of some sort?"_

"_No, nothing like that." I say, feeling way too tired and dirty to talk about this, especially with Delia. She's around Professor Ivy's age and it just feels…awkward. "I just stayed behind at a lab to learn some things."_

"_Oh that's right!" Delia says, remembering what Ash had told her about my decision. "How are you and Ivy? What are you doing all the way here in pallet?"_

_The feeling of dread washes over me. That name gives me chills up and down my spine and not in the good way either. It's that creepy crawly feeling and that image of her in bed with another man, and her questionably-gendered assistants comes flooding back. I shudder._

"_Please, don't mention that name." I tell her, my back turned towards her. _

"_Oh…alright." She said, a little unsurely. "You look like you might need a shower. You're welcome to use it anytime you like, alright dear?"_

"_Thank you." I say, sitting up after a few moments. A shower is what I need so I head upstairs. _

"_I'm headed to the grocery store. You can stay for dinner if you like. It's nice to have someone else around the house, isn't it Mimey?" She asks, petting the clown Pokemon on the head with a smile. _

_I nod my acknowledgement and go upstairs to take a shower. The warm water on my skin feels good. I wash my hair, my entire body, everything. I want the scent of Ivy off of me. I'm alone now, once again, but not in the middle of a forest. I'm in a shower, in a home, and while I'm happy and grateful for Mrs. Ketchum's kindness, I still want to see my friends and most of all, my family. _

_Maybe if I'm lucky enough, Ash will come home after he finishes with season two in the Orange League. I know it's probably too late for me to come back on the show, but I'm just grateful to be back. I know that I'm in Pallet town now, so it won't take me too long to get to Pewter City if I go by car._

_But, I don't know if I want to face my father right now. I don't want to tell him what happened to me on Valencia Island, I don't want to tell anyone in fact. Not Ash. Not Misty. No one._

_I step out of the shower and get dressed in the clean clothes I had in my backpack that I had washed at the laundry mat. _

_Mrs. Ketchum comes back, cooks a delicious dinner which I helped her with just to be a good house guest and now I'm headed off to bed. I sleep in Ash's room, which hadn't changed much at all since the last time we were here, which was about a year ago._

_I don't even remember falling asleep, but the next thing I know I'm being woken up by the sound of a vacuum cleaner and little clown footsteps._

"_Mr. Mime!" It cheers happily, vacuuming up things in Ash's room. I open my eyes tiredly and it smiles at me. I smile back and turn the other way. I'm too tired to get out of bed yet, and I feel lazy. Every time I hear a vacuum cleaner, I'm usually the one running it. _

_However, right now, I'm still too tired to even move. My bones ache, but I feel rested, strangely. I hear Delia's voice at the door. "Brock, dear, it's almost noon. Would you like some lunch?"_

_I sit up. For once, the sound of food doesn't make me want to throw up. "Yes, please. Mrs. Ketchum, I'll help you cook if you want me to."_

"_That would be great, sweety." She says smiling. "Ash never offered to help me when he lived here." She laughs and exits the room, instructing Mimey to leave with her so that I can get dressed. I can't believe I even had the nerve to sleep without my shirt in Mrs. Ketchum's house._

_I sit at the table with her and she serves me a bowl of soup. "So, Brock, how's the girl hunting going?"_

_I force a laugh, almost choking on the soup at the question. "Ah, I'm giving up on love. I'll never find anyone who will ever love me back…" I sound more depressed then I mean to. _

"_Oh Brock, sweety, I'm sure that's not true." Delia says. "You're a handsome boy. Some girl will come walking by before you know it." She says smiling._

_I want to believe her. I want to believe that, just one day, when I'm least expecting it, the girl of my dreams will come walking by, but the chances of that happening are very little so I'm not holding my breath. _

_After lunch, it's time to do chores. Of course, she never asked me to, but I felt obligated. I wash the dirty dishes, sweep the kitchen floor and clean the counter, all while fighting Mr. Mime._

_Then, it was time to sweep the porch. I look at the clown, and he looks back at me. Fortunately, my arms are longer so I reach the broom first and race outside. Mr. Mime is fighting me, pulling the broom towards him and I'm momentarily surprised by his strength. However, I win and began to sweep leaves, dirt and other things off the front porch._

_Delia steps outside with a hat on and smiles at me. "You're the best house guest ever, Brock." She laughs. "I'm headed to the flower garden to pick up some fertilizer for my plants. You and Mimey don't get too competitive while I'm gone." She says, and I watch her make her way towards her car._

_I continue to sweep the front porch while Mr. Mime occupies himself with pulling weeds out of the garden. I hear someone walking down the road, but I don't bother to look up until she speaks._

"_Excuse me?" She asks, looking a bit shy. I look up and my jaw drops, my heart skips a beat. She's absolutely beautiful! "I'm looking for a Pokemon Center. My little Evee is sick." She says, holding a very sick and tired looking Evee in her arms._

_I drop the broom, not caring anymore if Mr. Mime takes over my chores now. "Let me take a look at it." I tell her and she sets Evee down in the grass. I kneel down next to it. She keeps starting at me and I'm wondering what she's thinking. _

_For the past few days, I have felt unattractive and extremely self-conscious about myself. I was never one to call myself "ugly", but when Ivy cheated on me it took every ounce of self-esteem I had away._

_Her Evee isn't as sick as she thinks it is, it's pregnant. I smile and stand up, giving her the news. She looks momentarily shocked, then happy, as any woman would be about little baby Pokemon running around._

"_Thank you so much, uh…" She pauses, wanting to know my name. It takes me a few minutes to get what she's asking but I quickly answer when I realize._

"_Brock. Brock Harrison." I say, offering my hand. "And you are?"_

"_Sakura Ford." She says, placing her hand in mine. I hold her hand for a moment, it's soft and delicate. Her skin is smooth and beautiful. Her hair is long, dark and very blue. Her eyes were beautiful and shimmering. She was absolutely the most gorgeous creature I have ever seen and I was scared to death. _

_Normally, I would have flirted with her immediately, but I was scared right now. I didn't want another woman to hurt me like Ivy did. "You better take it to the Pokemon Center anyway, just to double check, but I'm sure it will be fine."_

"_Oh, right…" Sakura says, walking away from me. "Thank you again."_

_She hesitates a bit before she walks away and I have to make a split second decision rather or not to talk to her again. "Sakura…?"_

_Sakura turns around, a hopeful sound in her voice. "Yes?"_

_I remember what Mrs. Ketchum told me. Maybe I could take another chance at love and maybe this girl was the one. Felina Ivy isn't worth giving up on finding happiness, and this girl proved to me that there was much prettier girls out there. _

_It takes me a few minutes to find my voice again. "Would you like to maybe…go out for dinner tonight?" I asked, praying I wouldn't get rejected. It didn't bother me before, but I really don't think I could handle it now._

_She twists a lock of hair on her finger and then smiles at me. "I'd love to."_

_***************************************_


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3_

Misty is starry-eyed. "I wish I had a romantic story to tell about me and Ash, but I fished him out of some stupid pond." She says, looking over at Ash. I laugh at the two of them and put my arm lovingly around my wife.

Sakura smiles and holds my hand. It's gotten quite late, almost 10:00 and I hope Ayame's having fun at her prom. I'm sure she is, she's with her friends. There's a knock the door and I stand up, wondering who could be coming by at this hour.

Much to my surprise, it's my daughter and her friends. Channing and Pierre are holding Robert up and he looks badly bruised and bloody. I'm shocked. "Holy shit, what happened?"

Ayame is in tears and she hugs me as soon as she gets inside. "Daddy, some guys beat Robert up. We rushed home as fast as we could, but he says he doesn't want to go to the hospital, so we brought him here. Maybe you can look at him."

"Alright, well, get him over to the couch." I tell Channing and Pierre. Robert's struggling to get to his feet, but they keep dragging the floor. He must have really taken an ass kicking, so I go upstairs and retrieve my medical supplies. The good thing is, his eyes are responding to light and he's conscious, so I think he'll be alright.

"My rib is killing me!" He exclaims. "I think it's broken."

"Don't move, Robert." I tell him. "Has anyone called his parents?"

"Yea." Channing tells me. "We called his mom on the way here. She's going to pick him up and take him to the hospital. We hope you don't mind, but we gave her this address."

"Nah, I don't mind." I inform him. Sakura brings in extra pillows to elevate his head. He's luck he's still got all his teeth, but he seems to be bleeding from his nose. "Sakura, get me a cold rag and some towels please."

She rushes upstairs to get the things I ask for and I finally sit down again. We have to work to keep Robert awake, if he's bleeding from his nose, he could have a possible head trauma and I know from experience that these patients aren't supposed to fall asleep.

Sakura comes back and I wipe the dried blood trailing from his nose back to his ears with the cloth and instruct him to hold the cloth up to his nose. He does so, very weakly.

My wife sits next to me. "Who could have done such an awful thing?"

"We don't know." Pierre says. "Just a group of random guys. We're not real sure."

There is another knock at the door and I assume it's Robert's mother. Sakura answers the door and invites the woman in. I almost fall over when I see who it is, Ash and Misty are also holding their breath and I can feel the thick tension in this room. My wife and daughter don't know who she is, but I do, all too well.

It's Felina Ivy. She's standing in my living room and it's the first time I've seen the woman in person since I left that day on Valencia Island. "Brock Harrison?" She asks, sounding quite surprised. I don't know if she's as genuinely surprised as I am, but she was convincing.

"W-What are you doing here?" I ask. Sakura and Ayame exchange a perplexed glance and have probably figured out by now that I know this woman. Apparently, they haven't put two and two together yet. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing yet.

"Well, my son was beat up at his high school prom." Ivy responds. "That's why I'm here. I assume this is your house?"

My jaw is frozen and I can't speak. I just look over at Sakura. I'm panicking inside and my neck feels hot, my skin is wet with a thin film of perspiration and I wonder if Ash or Misty will say anything.

"Yes, this is our house." Sakura says, growing suspicious. "I'm Sakura Harrison, Brock's wife."

Ivy is leaned over Robert and she peers back at my wife with a sly smile. "Professor Felina Ivy."

The whole room goes silent and I want to sink through the floor. Was this all a scheme to get this woman into my home? I don't know yet. I didn't even know she had a son. Last thing I knew she was messing around with three girls and a strange man, so I don't know what to think at this point.

Misty taps Ash on the shoulder. I hear them whispering behind me and I can't really make out what their saying. I can't make out much of anything right now and I feel as if I'm going to pass out.

Ivy sits down next to Robert.

"Momma?" He asks. "I…I don't need to go to the hospital."

"Yes, Robert, you do." She says, putting her hand over his. This is so surreal to me, but somehow I feel things are about to get worse. Call it intuition, but I think it's because things seems to always get worse when Ivy's around and things aren't always what they seem with that woman.

Sakura beside me and I grab her hand. I'm squeezing it until my knuckles turn white, but she doesn't seem to say anything to me. I just watch.

Finally, Ivy looks up at me with those droopy eyes. "I'm glad you finally got to meet Robert, Brock." She says with a smile.

"Y-yea, he's a nice kid." I say, not sure of what else I could say.

"You know, Brock, I've waited years to tell you this…" She says, standing up. Sakura stands in front of me protectively, but Ivy doesn't seem concerned with that. She doesn't need to be too close to me to tell me whatever it is she's going to tell me, which is probably a good thing.

The room is silent. Ayame is standing with Channing. She knows how serious this is, she knows how much I despise this woman.

"Brock, Robert is your son." She says.

My jaw falls open, Sakura's grip on my hand loosens and I worry. I look over and she's still standing beside me, but I don't know what she's thinking. Actually, I'm not even really sure what I'm thinking. This is bizarre. There is no way that Robert is my son.

He looks nothing like me and…

Well, he could be. After all he is around the same age as Ayame.

Robert grunts in pain. "Momma!"

"Robert!" Ivy exclaims. The confession has still hung in the air and now I feel even worse. That same feeling of dread washes over me. However, my son is seriously injured now and we need to get him to the hospital.

We load him in the back of my truck. It's not the best place to put an injured person, but it will do for now. I'm as cold as stone as we drive to the hospital. Ivy chose to sit in the back and Sakura's in the passenger seat. My hands are gripping the steering wheel so tight it hurts now.

I try my best not to go over any bumps and not to speed. Sakura's silent and I wonder what she's thinking. I've been married to the woman for seventeen years, but I still can't quite tell what she's thinking sometimes.

"Sakura, are you mad at me?" I ask, not sure if I want to hear the answer.

"I guess I'm just shocked." She replies, but I don't relax yet. I can tell by the tone in her voice she has much more to say. "I mean, you…have a child with her."

"Sakura, I didn't know." I confess. I really didn't know. I've had a son for eighteen years and I really didn't know. I realize I'm no better than my father. I didn't grow up without a father, he was there for ten years of my life, but my younger brother's and sister's did for most of the developmental years.

It's a huge blow to my conscious. It breaks my heart to know and I wish Ivy would have told me sooner. I would have done everything I could to take care of him, even if Ivy was the whore she was.

I pull into the hospital parking lot and my own team of medics come and help him out of the back of my truck. I feel better now that he's on a gurney. As a doctor, I know how dangerous it can be to put someone in that position with a broken rib.

My daughter arrives with Channing and her friends just as I sit down in the waiting room. She has tears in her eyes and she looks at me. "Daddy, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, sweetheart." I tell her. I think she's still trying to take in the fact that she has a half brother, and that he's Ivy's son. Despite that fact that Sakura's angry with me, she leans her head on my shoulder. Her hair smells of hairspray, just like my mothers and I close my eyes.

I love Sakura. I love her with all my heart and soul, even if she was to be angry with me and walk out. I'm no better than Flint Harrison, in fact, I'm worse. At least he was married to my mother and didn't leave her while she was pregnant with his child, like I did to Ivy.

I was so young and stupid then. All these years I thought I was a good father to Ayame. I still have her baby photos, her baby shoes, and even some of her toys. I remember when she came into my life, like it was yesterday.

********************************************

_I'm so tired. I've been awake all night. Normally by this time of morning, I'm filming another episode of Pokemon, season three. I'm grateful they actually let me come back after just abruptly leaving like I did to stay with…_

_Well, I don't want to think about her right now. _

_However, instead, I'm standing in front of a nursery window, staring at the center crib marked "Harrison". My newborn baby girl is the only one awake in the entire nursery and I see her kicking her legs underneath the tiny pink blanket._

_It's early May. I love this time of year. Everything's new and beautiful and I have a whole other reason to love this time of year._

_I went in and saw Sakura. She fell asleep on me, so I decided to let her rest and come and watch my daughter. I wish I could sleep, but I'm way too excited. I know in the next twelve hours or so I'll be bringing my baby girl home with me. _

_I've never been so proud of anything in my entire life. Sure, my father isn't too happy with me because Sakura and I aren't married yet, but we have a wedding date set two weeks from now and I fall more in love with her each and everyday. _

_A solid figure stands next to me and I look over to see my father. "It's weird isn't it?" He asks. I look over at him, not saying a word. "I remember standing in this same position eighteen years ago, watching you through the window in your little blue blanket."_

_I'm silent for a moment and I peer back in through the glass. "Is that when you still loved mom?"_

_It's his turn to be speechless. He sighs and looks at me. "Brock, I've always loved your mother."_

"_Why'd you leave us then?" I ask, trying my best not to cry. I haven't cried since the day I left Valencia, yet every time I'm around my dad I want to bawl like a baby. _

"_Brock, I was so messed up back then." Flint tells me. Sometimes, when I talk to him it doesn't feel like I'm talking to my dad, it feels like I'm talking to a stranger. "I thought alcohol and strip bars were more important than my family. One day I got messed up with the wrong crowd and almost got killed, that's when I returned home and allowed you to go and pursue your life."_

"_You came back too late…" I say. "Mom took off to find you because she couldn't stand to see me handle everything on my own. She died looking for you…I blame you for her death."_

_He looks momentarily surprised and he looks at me through the corner of his eye. "I have something to tell you Brock…" He trails off for a moment and I wait. "Your mother isn't dead."_

_I scowl at him and grit my teeth. "You're lying."_

"_No, I'm not Brock!" Flint tells me, placing his hands on my shoulders. I shrug him off and tear myself away from him. _

"_Get the fuck away from me, Flint!" I say and I expect him to yell at me. He hated it when I called him Flint, and sometimes I did to just to piss him off, but now I'm doing it because I don't really see this man as my father anymore. I never really saw him as my father._

"_Brock, Lola's alive!" _

"_Shut up!" I say, stuffing my hands in my pockets. I turn away from him and hurry down the hall._

"_Brock, wait!" I hear him say. "You can't just run away from your problems!"_

_I turn back to him and glare. "Why not? You taught me how to…."_

************************************************

The double doors of the hospital open and I see Miroku walk through the doors. I'm surprised and I wonder what the monk is doing here, especially at almost midnight.

"Miroku?" Shiori asks her older brother curiously. "What are you doing here?"

"I came here because I heard there was an incident at your prom." He says, concerned. "Are you and Pierre alright?"

"We're fine." Pierre replies. "It's Robert who got hurt. Some boys beat him up. Me and Channing had to pull the guys off him, but they were too many and we think his rib's broken. Luckily, that's all that was hurt before the police finally got on the job."

Miroku seems somewhat relieved and he hugs Shiori. "I saw it on the eleven O'clock news. They're saying it was a hate crime."

"A hate crime?" Ayame asks. "What kind of a hate crime?"

Miroku shrugs. "They're saying it was because of the guy being gay. I mean, that's what I heard, but…"

"Robert?" Pierre asks. "He's not gay…" He trails off and looks over at Channing. "Is he?"

My daughter's boyfriend just shrugs.

"This is terrible." Shiori says, slumping in her chair. "Even if he was gay, that doesn't give them the right to beat him up and try and kill him."

The back door to the examination room opens and I see Ivy wheeling Robert out in a wheelchair. His eye has blackened and his lips are a little swollen, but she forces a smile when he sees me.

Nurse Joy walks up to me and hands me a file. "I put him on prescription pain medication, wrapped his torso with bandages to keep the fracture in his ribs from worsening and I've given special instructions to his mother to take care of the swelling."

"Nice work, Joy." I tell her, taking the file from her. Even if I'm off duty, I'm still the head doctor here and all my nurses and staff members still depend on me. I excuse myself from the waiting room and retreat back to my office.

A hate crime at my daughter's school? What is this world coming to? Today has been a whirlwind for me. I sit down at my desk and sort through the file before putting it away. I'm curious about a few things. A copy of his birth certificate is inside and I take it out. Ivy never put my name in as the father and I wonder why. Maybe she didn't want me to be able to claim him later. My opinion of Ivy has not changed, and it never will, but I still want to try and get to know Robert and make up for all those years I wasn't there.

Guilt has really reached an all-time high and I want to do everything I can to make it right. If there is one thing my father taught me it's that I'd never want any of my children, rather I knew I had them or not, feeling the way towards me like I did towards my dad.

****************************

_I'm a married man now. I stand in a large room surrounded by family and friends. I didn't see my father here today at my wedding ceremony, but that's alright. After our fight a couple weeks ago when my daughter was born, I didn't expect him to show up anyway._

_Sakura's still in her wedding gown and she looks gorgeous. I don't think I've ever seen anyone look more amazing than she does right now. I'm a very happy man._

_We just finished with wedding pictures and I'm glad to say I'm glad this wedding is over with. Not that I didn't want to get married, it's just I want to start my life with Sakura as soon as possible._

_I have my back turned and I'm talking with Ash. I hear footsteps behind me and then a tap on my shoulder. I turn around and once again I see Flint Harrison standing in front of me. I take a shaky breath. _

"_Dad?"_

"_Congratulations, son." He tells me with a smile. _

_I try to remain calm and to be honest, I'm glad he's here. Maybe, just maybe, he does care, even a little bit. "Thanks." I say simply._

"_Brock, look, I know you're still mad at me for what happened a couple weeks ago, but--"_

"_I'm over it." I interrupt him. I instinctively prepare myself to be backhanded across my face, but it never comes. He used to hate when I would interrupt him. I guess he really has changed. _

_Ash must have sensed the tension, because when I turn back around to ignore my father, he's gone. I sigh and face my dad again. He's calm and sober. He hasn't once tried to go for the champagne, and I don't smell the cigarettes on his clothes anymore. If he didn't look so much like myself, I would swear this wasn't my father._

"_Brock, I want you to listen to me…" He tells me. "Your mother is alive and she's here."_

_I freeze. How could my father be so cruel? I have just come to terms with my mother's death not too long ago, now he's telling me that she's alive? "No!" I say. "No, dad. Mom's dead!"_

"_Brock, I'm man enough to admit I lied, alright?" He says as I wipe a tear away from my eyes. "But she's alive, and she's here. She watched you get married and she's here right now."_

_I turn away from him and I start to sob. I can't help it, even though I know my father forbid me to cry growing up. He raised me to be as tough as nails, solid like a rock. I expect him to call me a sissy, or gay, but instead, I feel him hug me._

_For the first time in my life, my father is actually showing me that he cares and I hug him back. My tears are soaking through his shirt and I see now that my father is just trying to make things right with me again. It may have taken him a while, but he really does care._

_I hear a pair of heels come up from behind me and the familiar scent of my mother's perfume. It's like I'm 10 years old again. I look back to see my mother for the first time in five years. She's aged some, but not very much. Her hair's still in the same short, flipped style it's always been in._

_There are no words to say to her at this moment. She just hugs me as tight as she possibly can and I hug her back, hoping that, if this is a dream, I hope I don't wake up soon. _

"_Brock, honey, I'm so proud of you." She says, smiling. "You have a beautiful family and I know you're going to be a great husband and father."_

_I stare at her for a long moment. I know my mother always believed in me and it's so good to see her again. Still, I'm angry at my father for lying like he did. All these years I thought I never got to say goodbye, that I'd never see my mother again, and now here she is._

_I turn to him and take a deep breath. It's my wedding day and I can't afford to be bitter towards anyone, even my father. "Dad, why did you lie to me?" I need to know._

_Lola interrupts him before he can speak. She touches my shoulder. "Brock, I left because I felt like I was in your way. I felt like a burden to you. I wasn't strong enough to hold my family together, but you were and I didn't want to be in your way." She looks embarrassed, but she maintains eye contact with me. "Your father only lied to you to protect you. He knew you were out there trying to make a life of your own and he didn't want you to occupy your time looking for me. So he told you I was dead."_

"_It was the wrong thing to do at the time." Flint says to me, and he puts his arm around my mother. "But I was only trying to protect you. Please understand that, Brock." _

_I'm silent for a moment and look down to my shiny black shoes. "I understand…" I mutter. Now there is another question burning in my mind. "Are you and mom…back together?" I ask, almost afraid of his answer._

_They both smile. "Yes." They reply in unison._

_Flint laughs. "I've gotten the help I need to take care of my wife and my family. Lola and I are in love again and we're proud grandparents of a very beautiful baby girl."_

_I smile. Yes, today really is the happiest day of my life. _

***********************************************

My office is quiet. The only light I have on is the small desk lamp illuminating Robert's birth certificate. There is a knock at the door and I hesitate. I'm hoping that's it's not Ivy, I really don't want to talk to her.

I sigh and prepare myself for the possibility. "Come in." I say and the door opens. I breath a sigh of relief when I realize it's just Miroku. I offer him a seat from across my desk and he takes it. "Hey there."

"Hey, Mr. Harrison." He says, relaxing back in his seat. "Sakura asked me to come in here and see how you were. You've been in here for a while."

I glance at the clock, it's half-past midnight and I realize I've been in here just thinking for a half an hour. I sigh and lean back in my chair. I look at the pictures on my desk. Our wedding picture, Ayame's baby pictures, all the way up to her recent senior pictures, and Keiko, who's now in fifth grade. Yes, I have a beautiful family, but it's not complete. Robert's mine to and I'm trying hard to except that.

"I guess I was just thinking." I tell him. "I'm a horrible father, Miroku."

"No you're not." He says, but I don't believe him. I am a terrible father, worse than my own. I don't look at him. I'm too embarrassed. The monk always looked up to me as a role model. He and Sango even consider Sakura and I the grandparents of their children and I always thought of myself as a good father, until now. "You're a great dad."

"No, Miroku, I'm not." I say, looking down. "There is a teenage boy in there who has grown up without a father and it's all my fault."

"That isn't your fault." He says. "It's Ivy's. She's the one who didn't bother to tell you about your son.." He seems nervous, he wipes his hands on his jeans and his eyes are averted down to my desk. He obviously doesn't like confronting me, but I know why he's doing it. He looks up to me, but I haven't set a very good example, at least in my opinion.

Though, I can't argue with him. He does have a point. Ivy didn't tell me, therefore it's partially her fault, but I shouldn't have ran away that day like I did. That was extremely childish of me.

"Mr. Harrison," He says, bringing me out of my thoughts. "Everything I know about being a devoted husband, and a loving father, I learned from you. You've taught me so much and even though my real father is dead, and Mushin raised me, you were the one who really taught me how to grow up."

I smile. It makes me feel a lot better to hear that coming from someone who isn't my son. Miroku's messed up a few times with Sango, but all of us do at some point in our lives. I messed up with Sakura a few months after we were married.

**************************************************

_I come in late. The house is dark and quiet, and it looks like I've avoided a fight with Sakura again. At least, I think that until the light flips on. Sakura stands by the staircase, holding Ayame with one arm as my daughter sleeps on her shoulder. I know I've made her mad this time._

"_Where have you been, Brock?" She asks._

"_I'm sorry. I…forgot to call." I say, hoping this will be the end of it. I have work in the morning and I'm extremely tired and on top of that I have class right after I get off work, but I know she's wanting to give me hell for not calling her._

"_You used to call me and tell me you were on your way." I see a tear in her eye and she heads towards the stairs, Ayame opens her eyes to look at me tiredly. "Is this how it's going to be Brock? Are you going to have me waiting up every night for you?" She starts to cry and I wonder why she's so mad about tonight for. _

_Maybe it's because I've been hanging out down at the pool hall for the past four weeks with my friends when I really should be home with my wife and my child. God, I don't want to turn out like my father…_

"_Sakura, I'm sorry…" I tell her, but she's already stomping up the stairs. "Where are you going?" I ask._

"_Somewhere your not." She says, throwing a large suitcase onto the bed. She's packing her clothes and I'm hoping she's just going to her mothers. "If this is how things are going to be then I quit!" _

_Ayame looks at me. She's only a year old and she doesn't understand, but I do. "Sakura, don't put Ayame through this."_

"_Well, she's not staying here with you when your gone every night!" She says, throwing the suitcase outside the door and heaving the duffle bag she has for Ayame over her shoulder. "I was wrong about you, Brock Harrison." She slams the door and the house is quiet._

_It's the second time in my life I've been walked out on. The house is cold and lonely and I contemplate rather or not I should go and chase after Sakura. She wouldn't listen to me anyway right now, she's too angry. _

_I pull a blanket off the couch and lay my head on one of the decorative pillows on our sofa. I have all night to think about what I've done. I don't even consider how my wife may feel when I'm out late like I am sometimes. _

_Sure, I work all week and go to college full time, so I need a little fun, but I can at least take Sakura's feelings into consideration. _

_************************************************_

I don't think I slept at all that night, but I did make time to go and talk to Sakura about things. I was lucky enough she gave me another chance and I really put my priorities in line after that.

Robert's birth certificate is still sitting on my desk and Miroku becomes curious about it. "What's that?" He asks.

"It's his birth certificate. It was in his medical files Ivy bought with her…" I say. He asks if he can take a look at it and tell him he can. Miroku picks up the document and looks at it curiously.

"Hey Brock, Ayame was born in May right?" The monk asks me.

"Yea." I reply, wondering why he'd ask me such an off the wall question. I busy myself with straightening up my office, but I can tell Miroku's thinking about…something.

"Well, Robert's birth certificate says August of the same year…" Miroku says, and it takes me a few moments to register. We exchange glances.

"Robert's three months _younger_ than Ayame…" I realize, stating the obvious more to myself than to Miroku. "Why didn't I notice that? Miroku, you're a genius!" I stand up, leaving Miroku by himself in my office. This means that Robert was conceived three months after Ayame was, meaning that I was already with Sakura and planning a wedding.

I have to talk to Robert and now. I walk out into the waiting room, Sakura's still here and she looks at me curiously. I smile at her, but continue my way to Robert's room. I walk in and Nurse Joy is in the room with him. Normally, by this time of night, my patients are asleep, but Robert's obviously too upset to sleep, so he's watching television.

He looks over and sees me. I'm relieved Ivy isn't in the room. I need to talk to him.

I take the swivel chair out from under the counter and pull it to his bedside. He's quiet so I start the conversation.

I look over at the television. He's watching late night sports highlights. Maybe we can find something in common with this. "So, you like baseball?"

He shrugs. "It's alright."

OK, maybe not. I clasp my hands together, trying to think of something to say to him. "So, what do you do at school? Are you on the football team with the other guys?"

"No." He replies. Robert shifts uncomfortably under his bed sheets and I have the feeling he might just be a little uncomfortable around me. Does he think I'm in his father? I don't know rather to tell him the truth or not because I don't know what Ivy's told him.

"I don't really like football." He says after a moment. I turn the television volume down just a bit and he doesn't seem to protest. I think I might have been a little more interested in the sports coverage than he was.

"Oh, well that's OK." I tell him. To be honest, I'm starting to feel a little jittery myself.

Luckily though, I don't have to bring up the father issue with him, because he brings it up first. "You know, Mr. Harrison," Robert says, looking away from me. "Mom is lying to you. I'm not your son."

Even though what Miroku discovered on his birth certificate already proved that, hearing it straight from Robert sent a wave a relief over me. "I know." I tell him. A bigger concern is haunting me now. "Do you know who your father is?"

"Yea, some guy who pays us a visit to the island once a year right around my birthday." Robert says. "I don't really like the guy." He tells me.

"Why don't you like him?" I ask.

"He's always trying to get me to play sports or go out and pick up girls." He sighs and leans back, staring up at the ceiling. "I'm not really into all that."

Yea, there was no way he was _my_ son. I love sports and girls, but I guess some guys don't. The door opens and I see Ivy walk in. The tension is thick and I know Robert can feel it just as well as I can.

"Brock…" She says.

"Felina." I say, shortly, not making eye contact with her. She looks down at Robert.

"How do you feel, Robert?"

"Better." He says, smiling. Ivy sits down in the chair next to him.

"Bonding with your son, Harrison?" She asks.

I grin slyly and Robert and I exchange a knowing look. I nod to him and he turns to her. "I told him, mom. It's not right you're trying to fool him into giving you money."

Ivy scowls at him and she's about to get angry, but I step in. "Felina, he didn't exactly tell me. I figured it out. His birthday gave it away."

She looks up at me and straightens her blouse. I realize now, under the bright lights that she has gotten very old. Her bust line has definitely sagged and her eyes are even droopier than I remember. What did I ever see in this woman?

"You and that brilliant mind of yours Brock." She says. "You always did know it all, didn't you?"

I stand my ground. She's toying with me, just like she did when I was 17. But I know the real Professor Ivy now, I'm older and wiser and I won't let her play her games with me anymore.

Robert sits up, grabbing both of our attention away from the stand off we're having in his hospital room. "Mom, Mr. Harrison?" He says, wincing with pain from his rib as he straightens his back against the pillows.

"Yes?" I ask.

"You know why I got beat up at prom right?" Robert asks, his voice is shaky. Ivy and I both shake our head, and I have to admit being in the same room with this woman is making me want to climb the walls, but I'm here for Robert.

I have a need to be a father to him, even if he isn't my son.

"Well, it's because…" He pauses. "Well, there is this boy at school and we were…hanging out in the hallway while we were waiting for the senior walk."

Ivy brushes the hair from his face. "Well, why would they beat you up over that? Are you two friends?"

"Kind of." He says.

"Well," Ivy says. "it's not like you two are gay or anyth--" She pauses when she sees the look on her son's face.

I realize it too and now everything makes sense.

"Robert…" Ivy says. "It's alright. You can tell me…" She looks up at me and I look at Robert.

"Yea, you can tell me, too. I won't judge you."

He shifts under my gaze. I know to him to came across as very masculine and he was probably afraid to tell me in the first place, but his eyes shift between me and his mother and he finally nods.

"Yes, I'm gay." He says. "I was in the hallway with him, he asked me to dance and I told him yes. We were making our way back into the dance area when these guys just jumped us. He got away, but I was under all of them." He pauses and takes a sip of his water with a shaky hand. His confession shook him up. "If it wasn't for Channing and Pierre, I don't know what would have happened."

I'm quiet. I'm not sure quite of what to say except that I'm proud that my daughter's boyfriend and Pierre jumped in and did the right thing. I know Channing will make a very nice son-in-law one day.

"It's alright, Robert." She says, she peers up at me and then back down at him. "I've had my share of experiences…"

That feeling of dread washes over me again as I think about seeing that experience. It still chills me to the bone until this day and I really think it's time I high-tail it out of here. Robert's fine now, and I think a large burden has been lifted off his chest.

It's time I go home and spend time with my wife.

We exit the hospital. Channing takes Ayame home in his own car from the hospital, they are still dressed in their prom attire. Sakura gets in the seat next to me and she looks very tired.

She smiles at me though, and kisses my cheek. "I'm not mad, Brock. Miroku explained everything to me."

"I'm sorry Ivy ruined your night, honey." I tell her as we pull out onto the road.

"No, Brock. I'm not going to let her ruin my night, or what we have." Something sparkles in her deep blue eyes and excitement builds in me.

It isn't long before we make it home, I must have been speeding. I open to the door to our home, it's dark inside and Ayame and Channing haven't made it home yet. Though I'm a little worried, it's actually kind of a blessing. I can talk to Sakura.

She kisses me before I can say anything and I return her kiss, then just as quickly she pulls away from me. "Brock?"

"Yes?"

"Do you want another baby?" She asks me.

That was definitely not what I expected coming from her. I laugh, run fingers through my hair and turn away from her. "Sakura, I'm getting old. I mean, our oldest daughter is an adult now."

"I just…" She looks at me and I look at her. She's afraid to talk to me about this and I'm wondering if I'm being unapproachable. I walk over to her and lift her gaze up to meet mine.

"What?"

"Miroku was showing me all those cute little baby pictures of his son and I just really want another one…"

I grin and kiss her softly. "Sakura, you may be an immortal fox demon, but I'm just a mortal. You're going to stay young forever, but me…I'm going to get old." I sit down on the couch and look at her.

"That's only half true…" She says, sitting next to me with her legs folded under her. I'm confused and I give her a puzzled look to prompt her to explain. "When I was a little girl I was told that if I ever fell in love with a mortal, I would eventually die…"

I'm stunned. For all these years I had no clue that I was a death sentence to the one woman I truly loved. "Sakura! You never told me this!"

"That's because I don't care." She says, putting her finger to my lips. She smiles and looks into my eyes. "Brock, I would rather love you and die than live a million years and never be loved by you."

She kisses me and I tumble back onto the couch. I kiss her back and I feel her grasp my shirt, wanting to tug it off. I'm not protesting.

Suddenly, the front door opens and we both jump apart.

Ayame and Channing and standing at the doorway looking at us with a disgusted look on their faces. "Ugh," Ayame cringes. "Get a room…"

I laugh and kiss Sakura on the cheek.

Yes, I'm happy. My life has changed so much, but everything that has happened to me has made me who I am today.

As for the baby thing…well…

We'll still talk about it…and there is always grandchildren.


End file.
